


Fruit of the Pomegranate

by ranichi17



Category: 16th Century CE RPF, Historical RPF
Genre: Alternate History, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Butterfly Effect, Catholic England, Epistolary, For Want of a Nail, Gen, Habsburg Screw, Image Heavy, POV Outsider, Protestant France, Tudor Era, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-04-14 12:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 7,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14136198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranichi17/pseuds/ranichi17
Summary: Catherine of Aragon births a son, sending ripples through the fabric of history





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on AlternateHistory.com in 2014 and I decided I’d be moving this here piece by piece.

**Rose and Pomegranate Badge of Catherine of Aragon**

 

“In the early hours of 10 November 1518, the Queen went into labour, which lasted well into the night. To the great joy and relief of the entire nation, at exactly ten o’clock in the evening, Queen Catherine of Aragon had given birth to a healthy son. [1]”

— _“Henry VIII: Husband, Father, King”_  by Sybille Grégoire

 

**_Aphrodite and Eros_ by Hans Holbein the Younger**    
The sitters were thought to have been Catherine of Aragon and her son [2]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 The POD. IOTL, Catherine gave birth to a daughter who was either stillborn or died soon after (sources differ on the matter). It also proved to be her last child, and the lack of sons ultimately led to the Great Matter. Of course, a son ITTL would have a serious effect on England and the Continent. [ return to text ]  
> 2 _Venus and Amor (1524)_ by Hans Holbein the Younger edited to have the face of Catherine of Aragon from Michael Sittow’s _Mary Magdalene_ [ return to text ]


	2. Vivat Henricus Princeps

**Baptismal Gift of Maximilian I to his godson, Henry of England**

_Musée Royal de l’Angleterre_

 

“The birth and subsequent baptism of the longed–for heir became the cause for the massive celebrations that occurred in the Domain.

Two hundred and seventy pounds of gunpowder were spent in firing cannon after cannon of salutes in the Tower. The messengers sent to spread the word of the Prince’s birth were rewarded with two gallons of fine wine and £20 each for their services. Church bells rang and  _Te Deums_  were sung throughout the country. Crude lucikines [3] lit up the night sky and the streets of London overflowed with expensive liquor. But the christening that followed three days afterwards was far more grandiose.

Like his sister, Mary, the Prince was baptized in the Church of the Observant Friars, their mother’s favourite religious order. Posts which carried aloft tapestries depicting scenes from the Gospel were erected from the Great Hall to the church to make way for the processional, thirty feet wide. Inside the Church, the great font of Canterbury stood on a high pedestal, no doubt to allow the spectators outside to witness their Prince’s baptism. The Archbishop of York [4] officiated, and the godparents included Maximilian I of Habsburg and the Queen [Claude] of France, for whom the Earl of Surrey and his sister the Lady Boleyn stood proxy. The boy was christened Henry, like his father. At the confirmation that followed, as dictated by royal etiquette, the Countess of Salisbury acted as godmother. The heralds who cried out his name and titles —  _‘Henry, Son and Heir to our most loved Sovereign King Henry VIII of England, Right High, Right Noble Duke Cornwall and Earl Chester’_  — were given £30 each by the joyous King, a far higher price he paid than when his first son was born.

Protocol dictated that neither King nor Queen be present at the baptism. Instead, Catherine remained in her Chamber, accompanied by her elder daughter Mary. After the christening, the Prince was brought back to her preceded by the baptismal gifts which were carried in order of rank of the giver. This procession was headed by the present from the boy’s godfather: a golden chalice set with fine rubies weighing 40 ounces in total. The gifts and the Prince were presented to the Queen and the Princess by the court ladies. _‘Madame Marie [sic],’_ the French ambassador reports, _‘hath been delighted by the presence of the bonnie Prince and coddled her brother so, remaining with the Prince until the Infant fell asleep in their Mother's arms.’_ ”

— _“Catherine the Queen: Her Lifelong Passion”_  by Anne St. John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 ATL fireworks [ return to text ]  
> 4 Thomas Wolsey [ return to text ]


	3. Riscoperta

“The world where Prince Hal was born into was one awakening from a deep slumber. Western Europe reconciled with its myths, and alongside it, the philosophies of the Ancients. It was Humanity’s Golden Age, and it was aptly referred to as the Riscoperta [5].

The philosophies were not the only ones rediscovered during this age. Riscoperta also became known as the age of the exploration race, which commenced with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain and Portugal were the mighty leaders, but Europe would not suffer to allow these two giants to have a monopoly. Soon, other nations challenged their authority. And Hal’s England would be spearheading it.”

 

 _— “Finding Lost Eden: The Changing World of the Tudors”_  by Jerome Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 Italian for rediscovery [ return to text ]


	4. 1519

“The Year of Our Lord 1519 starts promisingly for most of Europe. In the Kingdom of England, the disastrous result of the outbreak of the Sweat has begun to remedy itself. London was recovering, as well as the surrounding counties, and the King has just celebrated Christmas with his Court, the star of the celebration being little Prince Hal who, unlike his predecessors, has thrived to become the apple of his parents’ and sister’s eyes.

Across the Channel, Francis I celebrates the holidays with his obviously pregnant Queen, Claude of Brittany. Francis hopes to one–up his English rival by claiming his wife is carrying another son.

In Spain, England’s ally through Catherine of Aragon, nominally ruled by Juana of Castile, but whose real power resides in her son and Regent Charles, the Portuguese–born courtier Fernando de Magallanes puts the finishing touches on his grand expedition to discover a route to the East without disturbing Portugal and breaking the Treaty of Tordesillas, which, if it succeeds, will give Spain a new route to the treasured spices. Meanwhile, in the New Eden, the  _conquista_  under Hernán Cortés has begun.

As January draws to a close, an urgent piece of news spreads throughout the continent like wildfire. Maximilian of Habsburg is dead. A new Emperor must be elected.”

 _— “Saeculum Aureum: The European Riscoperta”_  by Frances Somerset


	5. The Imperial Elections

**Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor**

 

“ **Election of 1519**

 

The 1519 election took place on March 28 in Frankfurt [6]. It was one of the most controversial elections that occurred in the history of the Empire.

The Electors were as follows:

  * Albert of Mainz, Elector of Mainz
  * Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads, Elector of Trier
  * Hermann of Wied, Elector of Cologne
  * Louis II Jagiellon, King of Bohemia, also King of Hungary
  * Louis V, Elector Palatine
  * Frederick III, Elector of Saxony
  * Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg



**Elected: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.**

 

This election followed the death of Emperor Maximilian on January 31, 1519 [7]. The two main candidates were Charles, the King of Spain, and Francis I, the King of France. Running as a dark–horse candidate was Henry VIII, King of England. Although Charles was a Habsburg by paternal ancestry, his father Philip being the son of Maximilian, he spoke French, and was thought to be as much a foreigner as Francis; while the experiment of giving the Empire to the monarch of another foreign power had never been tried. On the other hand, France and the Empire had not been joined since the days of the Carolingian dynasty.

Charles and Francis tried to outdo each other in voluminous bribes; Charles, in the end, had deeper pockets. Charles could count on the vote of the King of Bohemia, his brother–in–law; in the meanwhile, Francis had bought the Elector of Trier. Although full details of the election were never revealed, it is possible that the Electors sought a way out of their dilemma by electing as Emperor the Elector of Saxony, but that he turned them down. In the end, Charles was elected unanimously, though with some misgivings by the Elector of Brandenburg. A few weeks after Charles’ coronation, a rumour spread that Francis was actually the real winner, though that was never proved [8].”

—  _“Imperial Elections of the Holy Roman Empire,”_  Omnipedia: the Free Encyclopedia [9]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6 IOTL, the elections occurred on the 28th of June. [ return to text ]  
> 7 IOTL, he died on the 12th. [ return to text ]  
> 8 Funny story, when I tried to randomize the candidates with the electors in random.org, Francis became the winner. If you want me to keep it, I’ll gladly change this. [ return to text ]  
> 9 IOTL, Wikipedia. I wanted to change the ATL term for the word encyclopedia, but it turns out the first usage of the word was 2 years before the POD [ return to text ]


	6. Bonnie Bessie Blount

**Infobox on Bessie Blount’s Omnipedia Entry [10]**

 

“Henry was often promiscuous during the last stages of the Queen’s pregnancies, when vigorous intercourse was seen as a danger to the child, and her pregnancy with Prince Hal was no exception. This coincides with the time that Mistress Elizabeth Blount retired from court.

Elizabeth Blount, known in life as Bessie, was the vivacious blonde eighteen–year–old daughter of Sir John Blount and his wife Catherine Pershall. Little is known about her early life and there is no known existing portrait of her. She was sent to court as a young girl to become one of Queen Catherine’s maids–of–honour. Sometime after her arrival, she caught the King’s eye and became his mistress in 1514 or 1515. In 1519, she was married off to Gilbert Tailboys, who was later made a baron [11].

It has long been speculated that her daughter Elizabeth, or perhaps even her son Henry, were fathered by the King [12]. One witness said that Henry Tailboys bore a resemblance to his purported father, Henry VIII, although no portraits survived to prove the claim. Also in favour of the King’s paternity is that the child was named Henry, implying his royal father gave the blessing to name him after his royal self. And if Lady Elizabeth Tailboys was indeed born in June 1519, then this would point to the King possibly being her biological father, since her mother’s affair with the King ended in 1522. The date also makes it possible for Henry Tailboys to have been conceived before the end of the affair, as Henry was born in late 1522. Another historian also points out that when Elizabeth Tailboys’ husband tried to claim his wife’s title  _jure uxoris_ , it was decided in her favour that she would be the holder of the title  _suo jure_  instead of her husband as they do not have issue, a rare decision at a time when husbands held their wives’ titles [13].

Childbed and marriage marked the end of Henry’s affairs. Children, Henry seemed to think, were for wives, not mistresses, who should inhabit a more ethereal realm of chivalric fantasy.”

—  _“The Lovers of Henry VIII”_  by Susan Weir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 IOTL, she died in 1540, and she had three daughters with her second husband. [ return to text ]  
> 11 IOTL, she married in 1522. [ return to text ]  
> 12 Butterflies at work. Instead of Henry Fitzroy, we have Lady Elizabeth Tailboys, who was not claimed by Henry as she was not a boy and a proof that he can sire male heirs. Besides, he already has his son ITTL. Let's just say that the sperms that impregnated Catherine and Bessie were switched. [ return to text ]  
> 13 This actually happened IOTL with Bessie’s eldest daughter. [ return to text ]


	7. Les Adieux à la reine

**Queen Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany**

****

 

****

“While Francis was licking his wounds over losing the Empire to Charles, the French Court was abuzz with excitement as the Queen’s pregnancy approached its end, and finally gave birth to a second son on the 1st of April 1519 at approximately five in the afternoon [14]. The boy was named Louis after his maternal grandfather and given the title of Duc d’Orléans [15]. Although there were worries that the boy would not survive through his mother’s difficult labor, they were unfounded as the boy was born healthy and in fact, his cries echoed throughout the castle. However, the same cannot be said for his mother.

****

Claude had a weak constitution from childhood and afflicted with scoliosis, giving her a hunched back. This weak constitution and her annual pregnancies, coupled with a difficult labor, contributed to her childbed death two days after Louis’ birth due to hemorrhaging [16].

****

Queen Claude of France is best remembered as the eldest daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. Because her parents had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to her mother’s Duchy of Brittany. The Crown of France, however, could only pass to and through male heirs in accordance with Salic Law, and thus the Crown was inherited by her husband and cousin Francis.

****

At Claude’s death, her son the Dauphin Francis became the Duke of Brittany. She was all of nineteen years.”

****

_— “Saeculum Aureum: The European Riscoperta”_  by Frances Somerset

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 IOTL, Claude gave birth on 31st March [ return to text ]  
> 15 ATL Henri II [ return to text ]  
> 16 She survived the birth IOTL [ return to text ]


	8. The Smolensk Wars

**Omnipedia Infobox for the Siege of Smolensk**

 

“On 3 February 1519, Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, gave birth to a stillborn daughter [17]. The new queen was devastated by such a loss, while her husband Sigismund the Old saw this lack of heirs male (he had two daughters from a previous marriage) as divine punishment for his loss of Smolensk during the Muscovite Wars. And so he decided to strike back.

The 1519 Siege of Smolensk was one of the defining battles of the Muscovite Wars. It returned Smolensk to the Lithuanian Grand Duchy, and thoroughly crushed the Muscovite forces. It was a loss that the Muscovites did not recover from for at least five years.”

— _“On the Eastern Front: Wars that Defined Eastern Europe”_  by Marina Braginskaya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 Bona Sforza had a live birth IOTL on 18 January, a daughter who became Queen Isabella of Hungary. [ return to text ]


	9. End of a Year

“1519 ended on the same high note as the year before it.

The Tudors welcome a new member as Princess Mary Tudor the Elder gives birth to her third child by the Duke of Suffolk. Named Charles for his father, the little boy is quickly doted upon by his sisters [18].

Francis begins shopping for a new bride by sending emissaries across the Continent. The Navarre girls, sisters of Henri II, are strong contenders to win the fickle King, but rumours suggest that Francis is, in fact, seeking the hand of the 14–year–old Anne, daughter of Charlotte of Naples and the Count of Laval, and her uncle’s heir should he die without issue. This has led Charles V to suspect that Francis will once again lay claim on Naples and forcing him to offer the hand of one of his own cousins, the Infantas of Portugal.

The Italian Peninsulas see a shift in power when Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino dies on the 18th of April [19]. Urban legend persists that while Lorenzo’s wife, Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne, was giving birth, Lorenzo was in death agony in the next room, and that when his only daughter, christened Maddalena after her mother [20], took her first breath, Lorenzo gave up his last. On his death, Urbino was seized by Francesco della Rovere, the previous Duke.

In the Habsburg possessions, Fernando de Magallanes sets out to sail to the famed Spice Islands with his fleet provided by Charles. Magallanes hopes that his expedition will discover a way to sail East without detection by Portugal.

The Spanish fleet from New Eden brings the Continent a new delicacy. Called  _cacahuatl_  by the natives, it is transcribed by the Spaniards into  _cacao_.  _Cacao_  is said to have been the native nobility’s drink of choice and is usually prepared with various spices, giving it a bitter–spicy taste. It slowly becomes popular in European courts, but some churchmen decry it, calling it ‘the Fiend’s drink,’ after it is used by a disgruntled noble to poison a Franciscan friar. Despite this, Hernan Cortès, the leader of the expedition, builds a cocoa plantation, ushering in the Spanish cocoa monopoly.

The latter half of the year sees infamous heretic Martin Luther engage in theological debate with theologian Johann Eck at Altenburg in Saxony [21]. The debate ended with Eck developing a strong desire to see Luther fall from grace, an enmity which lasted throughout their lives.”

— _“Mighty Europa”_  by Madeleine Vikary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18 Mary gave birth to Eleanor Brandon IOTL. [ return to text ]  
> 19 May 4 IOTL [ return to text ]  
> 20 alt–Catherine de’ Medici. Also, ITTL Madeleine did not die of puerperal fever. Mother and daughter are now exiled to Boulogne while the Papacy sorts out the mess that is Urbino. [ return to text ]  
> 21 Happened in Leipzig IOTL [ return to text ]


	10. The Education of a Prince

****

**Princess Mary and Prince Henry, done in late Henrician fashion [22]**

 

“In order to understand that most illustrious king, we must first look into his upbringing.

Sixteenth century parents were not normally indulgent. Juan Vives was quoted on saying _‘Never have the rod off a boy’s back; specially the daughter should be handled without cherishing. For cherishing marreth sons, but it utterly destroyeth daughters.’_

Yet Henry and Catherine were of a different stock. Henry was a teasing, affectionate father, who like other fathers, boasted of his children, only he did so in Latin. Catherine, on the other hand, personally supervised her children’s education.

Prince Henry was raised in a manner similar to those princes that came before and would come after him. He was placed in a single household with his sister, the Princess Mary, under the cares of Lady Salisbury and Lady Margaret Bryan in the royal nursery until each child turned six. At that age, they were given their own separate households, with the Princess Mary having been granted ‘for life’ the old lands of her ancestor, the Earldom of Richmond, which she held until her marriage [23].

The Prince, meanwhile, was packed off to Ludlow soon after his creation as Prince of Wales in his tenth year. It was here that he began his formal education under the tutelage of Sir Thomas More, who taught him the Scripture and Latin, and the aforementioned Vives, who taught him philosophy and the liberal sciences. In 1522, Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian scholar who was part of the Magellan expedition, became a member of the Prince’s household [24]. It was Pigafetta who instilled in Henry his lifelong love of the navigational sciences, including geometry.

In addition, the Prince is known to have learned French, the language of the court, Spanish, which was his mother’s native tongue, and Italian, which he learned from Pigafetta.

Like his father and sister, Henry is known to have inherited the Tudor intelligence and musical gift, learning how to play the lute and the virginals. It is widely believed that the ditty  _‘O How Fair is Thee’_  was composed by the Prince himself for his wife.”

—  _“Finding Lost Eden: The Changing World of the Tudors”_  by Jerome Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 22 Actually a painting entitled _“Double Portrait of a Brother and Sister”_ by Cornelius Ketel. [ return to text ]  
>  23 IOTL, Richmond became a dukedom granted to Henry FitzRoy. [ return to text ]  
> 24 ITTL, instead of returning to Venice after the expedition, he went to offer his service to Henry VIII. [ return to text ]


	11. Betrothals

**Johanna of Denmark in 1530 [25]**

 

“On Lammas Day 1520, Prince Henry underwent for the first time that event so important to noble children — a betrothal. The bride was Johanna of Denmark, daughter of Christian II, and the niece of the Habsburg emperor. It was done a month after her first birthday, as there were doubts that she would not survive after the difficult birth that took both her mother and her twin sister [26]. She was represented in England by the Danish ambassador, who received on her behalf a large diamond ring and a locket containing a miniature of the Prince.

The betrothal was suggested by the Emperor, as a way to assure Henry that Denmark would no longer side with the hated Scots (and by extension, the French) due to being brought into the Habsburg circle [27]. It was also, in a masterstroke, a way to offset the imbalance brought by Princess Mary’s betrothal with the Dauphin–Duke of Brittany.” 

—  _“Henry VIII: Husband, Father, King”_  by Sybille Grégoire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25 Actually a portrait of her OTL sister Dorothea by Jan Gossaert entitled _Young Girl with Astronomic Instrument or A Young Princess_. [ return to text ]  
>  26 IOTL, Isabella Habsburg gave birth to twin sons who were both stillborn. ITTL, she gave birth to twin daughters, Annelise, who was stillborn, and Johanna, who is sickly. IOTL, she survived while ITTL, she died after a month from complications, although there are also rumours that she was actually poisoned by Christian’s mistress’ mother Sigbrit Willoms, who, IOTL, was also accused of witchcraft. One should blame random.org for this outcome. [ return to text ]  
> 27 Christian is the uncle of James IV of Scotland, and this part refers to the Auld Alliance. [ return to text ]


	12. Vive la reine

****

**A replication of the wedding portrait of Henry II and Renée of France. It portrays Henry meeting his queen for the first time in the gardens of Château de Blois. Renée is visible in the background wearing the colors of France accompanied by her brother–in–law Francis I. [28]**

 

“As the summer of 1520 draws near, Francis brokers a marriage treaty with Navarre. The brides were the Princess Renée, his sister–in–law, and the Princess Anne, the Navarrese king’s eldest sister. Anne was 28, nearing spinsterhood, yet she was chosen as Francis’ bride as the alternative was for Francis to marry Isabella, who was but a babe in the royal nursery. Renée, aged 10, was to marry Henry, and it was agreed that consummation will not occur until she turns 16.

Anne arrived in Paris on November 12 along with her sizable retinue and her dowry. It was widely celebrated, for it has been a few years since the monarch married a foreign princess, the last being Louis XII’s marriage to Mary the Elder of England. The marriage occurred in the Notre Dame three days later, with the couple afterwards giving out alms to the populace. The French marriage happened simultaneously with the Navarrese proxy marriage in Pamplona, with Renée yet to be sent out to the Navarrese court.”

—  _“Medieval Politics in the Mediterranean”_  by Fleur d’Elbe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 28 IOTL, a portrait commissioned by Henry’s OTL queen Marguerite d’Angoulême. [ return to text ]


	13. The Field of the Cloth of Gold

****

**An artist’s depiction of the meeting between Francis and Henry at the Field of the Cloth of Gold**

 

“In discussing Anglo–French relations, it is imperative to touch upon the subject of The Field of the Cloth of Gold. This lavish meeting between two kings who embodied the ideal Riscoperta prince give us a glimpse of the world as it was.

Thomas Wolsey was instrumental in bringing about the Field through the Treaty of London signed in 1518. The Treaty, agreed on by all Catholic European states, stipulated universal peace among the involved nations and a Crusade against the Ottoman. It also entailed the return of Tournay to France by England, and the marriage between Mary of England and the Dauphin–Duke of Brittany. The treaty, therefore, was a cleverly disguised attempt at offsetting the imbalance of power brought about by the French victory at Marignano in 1515.

Henry and Francis had a mutual curiosity for each other. In an expansive moment, the two kings both swore an oath not to shave off their beards until they met. Curiously enough, Queen Catherine soon discovered that her husband's beard was not to her enjoyment and it was summarily cut off.

The splendour surrounding this historic meeting should not distract from the fact that it was an extremely expensive party which not all of the participants enjoyed. The Queen, Spanish to her core, did not relish the idea of a friendship with France, although she played her part well, dressed in the richest finery while entertaining the French king.

The meeting between these two kings and their respective courts occurred in Calais on the 15th of August 1520 and lasted for about two weeks [29]. Calais, although an English territory, was surrounded by French land which rendered it as close to a neutral territory as possible.

Henry had built a “palace of illusions” before the castle of Guise, deeming the castle too small for his massive retinue. It was built on timbre and canvas painted on to give the illusion of being brickwork. Inside, there were separate chambers for each member of the Royal Family, including the elder Princess Mary, who was to play the part of the Dowager Queen of France, however brief her reign was. Also included was a spacious dining hall, enough to fit both Royal Courts. All around this palace of canvas were painted Tudor roses and other heraldic symbols.

The French, although pressed for time, were not to be outdone. On their side they pitched five hundred tents made from cloth of gold and silver, thus lending a name to this meeting of two giants —  _‘The Field of the Cloth of Gold.’_

It must be noted that this meeting was also the first time the two betrothed children met. Two days after the English court arrived in Calais, Princess Mary was accompanied by her mother, her brother, and court ladies over to the French side of the Field. There, they were welcomed by the new Queen Anne, her ladies, and her stepchildren. Like all children, the Princes and Princesses instantly took a shine for their counterparts and under the watchful eyes of the ladies, they played in the Queen’s golden tent. One incident did occur, and however petty the squabble was, it started a rivalry between Prince Henry and the Dauphin, echoing their fathers before them.

The same cannot be said of the two Queens, however. Catherine, the pious saint–queen, disdained the French Queen for being loose in her religion and even more so in her later years after rumours circulated that she became the patron of a certain reformist.

As for the Queens and the children, this meeting became the start of a friendship between Queen Anne and Princess Mary. Long after the Calais meeting, they would exchange letters and various trinkets. It is said that it was Anne’s influence over Mary that determined the rise and fall of French religionism.”

—  _“Religion and the Tudors”_  by Lady Elizabeth Suffolk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 29 IOTL, the meeting happened in June. The reason the date was pushed ITTL is because the French court went in mourning for a year for Queen Claude, and then a few weeks of celebration for the Navarrese wedding. [ return to text ]


	14. Ave Imperator

****

**Henry VIII and Charles V standing in the presence of Leo X**

 

“To say that Charles was discomforted by the Anglo–French alliance is an understatement. He was the underdog, and this time was not to be the last. Only twenty, he was the youngest of the three clashing monarchs. His protruding jaw did not help, as it made him slow of speech, leading many to think he was slow of wit as well.

We have said that Katherine was uneasy with the prospect of having a French prince for a son. Although she did not manage to impede either the betrothal to Francis or the Cloth of Gold, she did secure a meeting between her husband and her nephew, uttering such heartfelt pleas. ‘Raising her eyes to heaven, with clasped hands [she] gave praise to God for the grace she hoped he would do her that she might see Charles.’ To see her nephew was ‘her greatest desire in the world.’[30] Henry, ever the loving husband, doffed his hat and complied. Katherine got her wish.

Charles landed in Dover on May 26 [31], to a thunderous salute from the waiting English fleet. Katherine’s instincts were right, the meeting between Henry and Charles proved a successful venture.

During his visit, Charles, who desired to see his uncle allied to him and not to the hated French, set out to charm everyone in the English court, particularly Cardinal Wolsey who was rumoured to have been promised the papacy. Although there are no records of the proceedings, it is entirely possible that it was on occasion of this visit that the betrothal of Prince Hal and Princess Johanna was first touched upon [32]. Sure enough, three months later, the first–cousins–once–removed were married by proxy.”

 _— “Plus Ultra”_ by Luitgard von Kassel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 Actually an OTL quote. [ return to text ]  
> 31 Also an OTL date. [ return to text ]  
> 32 IOTL, this was the occasion where Mary’s betrothal to Charles was first discussed. Here, Henry hits two birds with one stone, obtaining the friendship of both the Empire and France using his children. [ return to text ]


	15. Anne of the Thousand Days

****

**Arms of the Bolwyn Family of London [33]**

 

“Sometime after the meeting on the Field, two young ladies arrived at the English court. These two girls, the daughters of Sir Thomas Bolwyn, would in time be the most talked about women of their generation not of blood royal.

 

The Bolwyn daughters were educated abroad as a result of their father’s position as the English diplomat to various Continental courts. Both girls were companions to Margaret of Austria, and later on, to Mary the Elder when she became Queen of France.

Contemporary portraits paint a contrasting picture of these two women. While Lady Mary was fair of hair and skin, the very picture of an English Rose, Lady Anne was dark–haired and olive–skinned, something considered exotic in the English court. These were not their only differences, however. While Lady Mary was described to be passive and shy, Lady Anne captured the attention of the court through her seductive personality and her fierce wit and temper.

 

Lady Mary, the elder Bolwyn daughter, was said to have embarked on several affairs while at the French court. Rumours circulated about her being ridden by half the French court. Francis I referred to her as ‘The English Mare.’

The Bolwyns’ return to England was one of great shame. Although Queen Claude was tolerant of her husband’s liaisons, her successor was cut from a different cloth. It is now widely accepted that it was Queen Anne of Navarre who was behind the banishment of the Bolwyns from the French court. Along with other mistresses of Francis, Queen Anne sent the girls packing when she once discovered Lady Mary ‘astride her good husband’ on their own marriage bed. This banishment, however, was covered up in England, and the official reason for the girls’ return was their impending betrothals.

 

Following their return to England, Lady Mary was married to her cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond as a way to settle disputed family claims over the Earldom [34]. During the wedding feast, Mary caught the eye of Henry VIII, and after the couple’s honeymoon, Lady Mary and her sister were summoned to court to serve as Queen Catherine’s ladies–in–waiting. This was simply a way to hide her new royal affair, as she was made into Henry’s official mistress in all but name.

Royal favour, however, was as fickle in England as it was in France. When Lady Mary quickened with child, she was dumped by the King for her sister, the Lady Anne. Lady Mary retired from court and gave birth to her daughter while staying in her husband’s estate. The sickly child, named Anne after her aunt, was said to have borne a passing resemblance to Henry, and was afterwards talked about in court as ‘the King’s cuckoo.’ [35]

 

We have mentioned Anne. Lady Anne was the younger Bolwyn daughter and a favourite of Margaret of Austria. She returned with her sister to England after the latter’s banishment from France and soon both of them joined Queen Catherine’s retinue. By all accounts, Lady Mary was the more attractive Bolwyn, and yet it was Anne who caught the long–lasting fancy of King Henry, due partly to her ambition and intellect.

During her time in the service of the Queen, Anne was courted by Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, whom she later married [36]. But even as a married woman, she continued to have her dalliance with the King. The King in return, showered her immediate family with honours, even raising her father to the peerage as Viscount Rochford and her husband as the Marquis of Pembroke [37].

While she was the King’s mistress, Lady Anne’s popularity soared, and soon it was she, not the Queen, who was sought out for royal grants. It was said of this time that King Henry had two Queens, one to wed and one to bed.

The peak of Anne’s reign came when she gave birth to the King’s only acknowledged natural daughter, Lady Anne FitzRoy. It came at a cost, however, as the Lady Anne never fully recovered her health after her daughter’s birth. She was forced to retire from court, and at the same time ending the king’s infatuation. Thus ended the reign of Anne of the Thousand Days [38].”

 _— “Messalina: The Rise and Fall of Royal and Papal Mistresses”_  by Isabel de Ayala

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 33 One of the many spellings of the name Boleyn. [ return to text ]  
> 34 IOTL, it was Anne who was going to marry Ormond as a way to unite the disputed inheritance. This plan was dashed and Ormond eventually married Lady Joan Fitzgerald. [ return to text ]  
> 35 Yes, it’s another one of Henry’s bastards. Think of her as an alt–Catherine Carey. [ return to text ]  
> 36 ITTL, since Henry had a male heir and was not planning on marrying another woman, Wolsey did not break the betrothal so they eventually got married. This marriage was somewhat happy, except for Anne’s affair. [ return to text ]  
> 37 Instead of being Marquess in her own right, Henry merely granted the marquisate to her husband, but on the stipulation that it would be solely Anne’s children who could inherit it, else it goes back to the Crown. [ return to text ]  
> 38 alt–Elizabeth I. Henry had to acknowledge her not only because of his real infatuation with Anne, but also because at this time Henry was the only one bedding Anne and she can’t be claimed to be Percy’s daughter. Elizabeth* would become suo jure Marchioness of Pembroke after both her mother and stepfather’s deaths. Anne would go on to bear Percy’s heirs, and yes, her daughter would cause trouble in her brother’s reign.  [ return to text ]


	16. Toujours Fidèle

****

**1530 Portrait of Anne of Navarre, Queen of France [39]**

 

“One of the most cherished jewels of the Second Schism of Christianity [40] is Queen Anne of France, whom we shall talk about presently.

Even before she left for France, Queen Anne had an unquenchable interest in religion. Born a Princess of Navarre where Salic Law had no hold, she was considered her mother’s heir up until the moment of her brother’s birth. Had she not been the heir, she would have certainly ended up in a convent like so many of her sisters. Nevertheless, because of this exposure to the unfairness inflicted upon her sex, she so desired to change it.

At the age of twenty–eight, by that time considered a spinster, she was packed off to France by her brother to fulfill a marriage pact, certainly without her consent. It was intended as an off–hand slight, as Henri was expecting her age will render her infertile. Unfortunately for her brother, Anne fulfilled her dynastic duty by providing her husband three daughters and a son, with each birth being increasingly taxing to her health than the last: the stillborn Claude in 1523, Catherine in 1525, Henry in 1526, and finally the sickly Anne in 1531 whose birth had sapped the last of her strength and killed her.

Queen Anne was extremely pious, and she expected her husband to be as well. Sadly, this was one key difference between the royal couple which caused their marriage to be strained. While Francis tolerated the church and even gave them concessions, he lapsed in prayer and kept mistresses, something which Anne, who took for her device the words  _‘Toujours Fidèle,’_ never forgave. When the queen once caught her husband desecrating their marriage bed with a courtier from England, she forced him to exile all of his mistresses from court and keep only to her bed.

Anne took to queenship eagerly. More so than her predecessor, she strengthened ties between France and the rest of Europe and arranged masques to improve the loyalty of French vassals, all the while taking care not to overspend. After the meeting on the Field, she nurtured a friendship with Mary of England, with whom she kept a close and warm correspondence with up until the end of her life. She also developed a close bond with her sister–in–law Marguerite, through whom she met Louis de Berquin, a religious scholar who she eventually sponsored.

 

De Berquin was nobly born in Artois at around the year 1490. In the academia, he was inspired by the works of Erasmus and Lefevre. He was interested in religious reforms, which was placed him under close scrutiny by the increasingly hostile church. If not for his patroness, he would have been condemned and Gallicanism would never have taken root.

In 1529, while Mary of England was preparing to be wed to the Dauphin, the Church declared de Berquin heretical and summoned him to Rome for a trial. Knowing he will not come back alive, Anne gave her scholar refuge in Château de Cognac. It was there that he declared his separate church, and Anne and her family supported him through it, eventually turning their back on Rome and taking France along with them.” 

 _— “Schisms of Christianity”_  by Marianne Enjolras

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 39 Actually a 1533 portrait by Pieter de Kempener entitled _Portrait of a Lady_. [ return to text ]  
>  40 TTL term for the Reformation. [ return to text ]


	17. a pair of star–cross’d lovers

****

**Sophia of Masovia as Cleopatra [41]**

 

“Perhaps no other seemingly insignificant event could have caused so much strife and heartbreak as that which we shall talk about presently.

 

In 1521, Ferdinand of Habsburg married the Princess Anna of Hungary in accordance with the terms set by the Congress of Vienna. The wedding was attended by illustrious men and women from both Western and Eastern Europe, most significantly the bridegroom’s brother Charles.

Revelry abounded the wedding party all the way until dawn. Within that merry confusion, Charles met Sophia, eldest sister of the Duke Stanislav of Masovia and a member of the House of Piast, the former Kings of Poland [42]. The next day, a few gossiping courtiers would whisper that Charles was seen exiting Sophia’s bedchamber clad in nothing but his sleeping robe. Some would say afterwards that the eastern Sophia was an enchantress who placed a spell on the Emperor and caused him to see no other woman but her.

Enchantress or not, Sophia did capture the Emperor’s heart. Long after his brother’s wedding, Charles was finding pretext after pretext just to visit the Polish Court. Meanwhile, the Duke of Masovia keeps a steel eye on his sister so as to avoid any other rumours of impropriety.

 

During such a visit, the Duke of Masovia is awoken one night by a knock on his door. It is the Emperor, bidding the Duke to walk with him for a whiff of the night air. The Duke does so, unwilling to disobey a man with such a high rank. The mystery only increases when the pair reach the castle’s church and worsens when they step inside. Within the confines of the church are gathered the palace chaplain and two veiled ladies of obviously high standing. The veils lifted, they revealed themselves to be the Duke’s two sisters, the eldest Sophia and the youngest Anna. A simple and rather rushed marriage occurs, after which Charles and Sophia left, hands held by each other and grinning.

None of Charles’ courts were pleased, and neither was the Polish king, who threatened to occupy the Masovian lands until Charles threatens him with annexation in return. The Cortes in Charles’ Spanish domains denounce him almost immediately, demanding Charles to return the Crowns to his mother Juana and labeling him as a traitorous foreign usurper. Portugal was not pleased either, as before Charles eloped, the Spanish and Portuguese ambassadors were already discussing a marriage between Charles and the Infanta Isabella. Manuel of Portugal threatens to banish every Spaniard in his land until he is bought off by a marriage proposal between Catherine Habsburg and the Infante John.

 

For years, Charles’ hold in Spain was weak. There were many who saw his mother as the rightful ruler. Matters were not helped when he appointed men from his Burgundian court in high Spanish offices. Discontentment increased when Charles raised taxes to pay for his campaign in the Imperial elections. When the news of Charles’ marriage spread, riots broke out all over the Spanish lands until it turned into full–scale rebellion. The War for the Spanish Succession had begun.”

 _— “Plus Ultra”_  by Luitgard von Kassel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 41 IOTL a portrait of an unknown woman as Cleopatra. [ return to text ]  
> 42 IOTL, she was the wife of Stephen VII Báthory [ return to text ]


	18. Let Slip the Dogs of War

****

**Charles V in his armor**

 

“As soon as the news of Carlos’ marriage to Sofía of Mazovia was announced, widespread riots occurred in Castile and Aragón.

 

In Toledo, a group of men openly defaced an illustration bearing the likeness of the new Queen. None of them were caught, as they dispersed immediately before the Emperor’s men caught them in the activity. Toledo had long been unstable because of Carlos’ previous campaign expense raising the city’s taxes.

In the wake of the defacement, Carlos ordered the most radical of the city’s leaders out of Toledo and tried replacing them with new administrators known to be loyal to Carlos. As the radical leaders were leaving the city, another riot sparked, the mob killing all but three of the Emperor’s new appointees. Afterwards, the city voted on the leadership of Juan López de Padilla.

 

The events in Toledo spread out to nearby cities until most of Castile rose in rebellion. Aragón and León followed soon after. Those cities with a vote in the Cortes placed a proposition for Carlos:

  * Cancel the taxes voted in the Cortes of Coruña.
  * A return to the local–controlled encabezamiento system of taxation.
  * Reserve official positions and church benefices for Iberians.
  * Prohibit money from leaving the kingdom to fund foreign affairs.
  * Designate an Iberian to lead the kingdom in the absence of the king.



The last proposition was later changed to state that Carlos is to be deposed, replaced with his mother Juana, and that her heir become Fernando. This change was what they later followed in the Treaty of Burgos.

 

Noble support for the rebels was scarce in the first phase of the war, but it increased when Pedro de Girón grabbed a hold on Juana, who was imprisoned by her son in Tordesillas, soon after the city fell. Juana, who was said to have recovered her wits the moment she escaped imprisonment, agreed on signing the proposition laid before her and called out for her nobles to support her in removing her ‘usurping son,’ recalling her mother Isabel’s plight against Enrique IV and La Beltraneja [44].

Carlos set out himself to put down the rebels on August 8, 1525. He was met with a massive defeat in Villalar. His resources depleted, he turned to the Pope. The Pope remained silent, choosing to stay neutral.

 

Carlos accepted defeat five months later, when Madrid and Barcelona fell. The Treaty of Burgos was signed on the 12th of January 1526, which stripped Carlos and his heirs of their rights to the Spanish domains. Castile, León, Aragón, and the Southern parts of Italy along with Sicily went back to Juana, while Carlos kept his Habsburg inheritance and the Northern part of Italy. 

Fernando was sworn in as the Prince of Asturias and Girona, suddenly thrust into the role of heir. For years thereafter, there were two factions in the peninsula, the Carlines and the Fernandines. The Carlines regarded Fernando as a usurper, pointing out to his plethora of miscarried and stillborn sons as divine punishment. Finally, Fernando was redeemed when in 1531, his wife Anna gave birth to twin sons named Alfonso and Fernando.

 

In the Empire, Carlos tightened his grasp on his remaining domains by securing valuable marriages for his sisters. Leonor, the Dowager Queen of Portugal, married the Elector Palatine in 1524, having been widowed the previous year after an epidemic of plague. Catalina, meanwhile, was sent to the Portuguese court in 1521, as part of the betrothal agreement between her and her cousin Infante João. They were formally wed in Lisboa in 1523, a week after her sixteenth birthday.”

— _“Jacob and Esau: The Life and Times of the Warring Habsburg Brothers”_  by María Hernandez Fonseca

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 43 Most of these are actually what happened IOTL’s Revolt of the Comuneros and Revolt of the Brotherhoods.  
> 44 IOTL, Juana not supporting the Comuneros was the final nail in the coffin of defeat. Here, it becomes the other way around. [ return to text ]


	19. Lament of a Queen

****

**“The Queen in Contemplation”**

An 18th-century painting depicting Catherine of Aragon deep in thought as she received the news of the war from Spain  [45]

 

“For a woman raised in the belief that everything she does must be for the benefit of her family, the war between her sister and her nephew proved to be a great challenge to Queen Catherine.

As the dogs of war were being unleashed through the Continent, Catherine wrote pressing letters both to Joanna and Charles, begging them to not destroy each other and reconcile their differences. Catherine even begged Henry to let her travel back to Castile to talk to her warring family but to no avail, as Henry decidedly refused to take part in the continental war, choosing instead to let it play out at the advice of his mistress Lady Pembroke.

Finally, in 1526, the war ended, deposing her ‘most beloved nephew’ as King of Castile and Aragon, and giving power back to her sister Joanna. It is said that the Queen wept terribly at the news, calling power a scourge upon her family. There were fears that she would end up mad with grief, a trait that was passed down through the Trastámara line from her Portuguese grandmother, but these fears were soon soothed when in February of that same year, she joined the court for the celebration of the Princess Mary’s tenth birthday, appearing as regal as ever but with a sort of grief permanently marring her face.

 

Though she eventually accepted the results of the war, letters were still exchanged between her and her sister, begging Joanna to forgive Charles for his ‘unjust usurpation.’ On this, Joanna never relented, for until the end of her days she declared Charles as ‘no son of hers.’

The tragedy that was Queen Catherine’s life was not over yet, it seems, for in 1529, her daughter Mary was sent to the turbulent French court for her impending marriage to the Dauphin. Mary eventually became an ardent supporter of de Berquin, becoming his patroness after Queen Anne de Navarre’s death. Her daughter’s supposed heresy caused a rift in the Queen’s heart that never repaired.”

 _— “Catherine the Queen: Her Lifelong Passion”_ by Anne St. John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 45 IOTL, a painting by C. R. Leslie alluding to Act III, Scene I of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII. [ return to text ]


	20. Primus Circumdedisti Me

An artist’s rendition of Fernando de Magallanes

 

“On the 16th of August 1519, the five ships under the command of Fernando de Magallanes set sail from Seville into the Guadalquivir River and left Spain on September 25 [46]. Manuel of Portugal ordered a detachment to pursue his former courtier, but the navigator evaded capture. Magallanes filled his stores on Cape Verde and set his course for Nuevo Edén [47].

On the 20th of November, the voyage crossed the equator, and finally sighted land one week later. While on the shores of Nuevo Edén, the ships were resupplied and set sail once again on the 9th of December. Afterwards, Magallanes’ fleet continued to sail south along Nuevo Edén’s eastern coast, reaching the Mar Dulce [48] more than a month later.

While overwintering on their newly-discovered Puerto de San Isidoro [49], named for the canonized Archbishop of Seville, mutiny broke out among the crew, chief of them being Juan Sebastián Elcano. Elcano was subsequently marooned and the other mutineers executed after Magallanes successfully put the mutiny down [50]. Magallanes’ brother-in-law then became captain of the  _Santiago_  [51].

The voyage resumed its course. The  _Concepción_  was sent down the coast to scout for a passage and was wrecked in a storm, with none of its crew surviving [52]. Faced with this new calamity, Magallanes decided to wait out the storm.

Reaching the Cabo San Marcelo on the feast day of the saint that lent its name to it, Magallanes concluded that he had reached the passageway to the East [53]. On November 10, 1520, the ships remaining began their journey through what Magallanes referred to as the Estrecho San León Magno, for it was the feast day of said Pope [54].  _Victoria_  deserted, however, and returned to Spain in December of that year. The remaining ships entered the open sea around the same time. The sea that welcomed them was dubbed Mar Grandísimo by Magallanes for its vastness [55].

Continuing their travel northwest, the fleet eventually sighted land on the 20th of February, although it was not the famed Spice Islands they reached. While restocking the ships on this new, harsh landscape, called Panchaea by Magallanes for the mythic southern land, they met the natives [56]. Pigafetta, misinterpreting the natives who called themselves the Murri, wrote in his journal that they have met descendants of Moors. These Murri, through Magallanes’ slave Enrique, tell the crew that the lands they seek are farther north [57].”

 _—  “Primus Circumdedisti Me: The Magallanes Expedition”_ by Sebastián Rodríguez Durante

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 46 He left Seville on the 10th IOTL, and finally sailed away from Spain on September 20. [ return to text ]  
> 47 New Eden (Nuevo Edén) is OTL South America, while New Elysium (Nuevo Elíseo) is OTL North America. [ return to text ]  
> 48 Juan Díaz de Solís’ term for Rio de la Plata. [ return to text ]  
> 49 OTL Puerto San Julian, Argentina [ return to text ]  
> 50 IOTL, Elcano was forgiven because he wasn’t the chief mutineer, and it was de Cartagena who was marooned. [ return to text ]  
> 51 He became captain of the Victoria after the mutiny IOTL. [ return to text ]  
> 52 It was the Santiago which was sent down and wrecked IOTL, and its whole crew survived. [ return to text ]  
> 53 Cape Virgenes IOTL. I used the current Calendar of Saints for the place names since I couldn’t find a decent source for the Tridentine Calendar which was identical to the Calendar of Saints used during the time period. [ return to text ]  
> 54 OTL Strait of Magellan, which he called Estrecho de Todos los Santos. [ return to text ]  
> 55 The Pacific Ocean IOTL. [ return to text ]  
> 56 OTL Australia [ return to text ]  
> 57 Evidence suggest native Australians traded with their Northern neighbors. [ return to text ]


End file.
